Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Operation “get the crocodile” is reportedly ready. A huge trap with a I-hope-not-living chicken will be placed at the shore of the Potami Dam lake in the Prefecture of Rethymnon. Then the experts will be lurking to see the crocodile sliding inside the trap to eat the chicken. The experts will close the trap door, take the mysterious crocodile in captivity and transfer him somewhere …safe. Like in Attikon Park in Athens that has been under the attack of animal activists due to the dolphin sin captivity.

The mysterious crocodile was spotted last week in Crete and ever since the experts puzzle how the reptile landed in a Cretan lake. As the island in Southern Greece is far away from being consider as
the natural tropical environment” for a crocodile, it is more than certain that the crocodile was bought to be kept as ‘pet’ and was released by his owner when he grew older, longer and hungrier.

The experts want to capture him as soon as possible, they have installed surveillance cameras in hope to identify the spots where the crocodile spends his time.

Fences have been set and signs warn tourists. Swimming in the lake has been banned even though the lake was not what we could call a popular destination for swimming.

Like this:

One by one the MPs of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn find themselves behind bars – in pretrial custody. The spokesman of the party, MP Ilias Kasiadiaris, was remanded in pretrial custody on Thursday, on charges of illegal weapons possessions with the intent to supply a criminal organization.

Kasidiaris claimed that the weapons were two hunting rifles belonging to his father.

However according to the reasoning of the special magistrates investigating the Golden Dawn, the rifles were converted into shotguns.

In their 24-page reasoning, the magistrates decided to send Kasidiaris in Korydallos prison until his trial due to “his violent character” and “on suspicion of committing new offenses.”

As expected Kasidiaris swore at the judiciary, the government and the journalists calling them “tramps” and “snitches”.

In October 2013, when short after the murder of rapper Petros Fyssas, police and judiciary hit the big blow against Golden Dawn, Kasidiaris was granted conditional release on the charges for belonging and running a criminal organization. He was released on bail.

So far, nine MPs from Golden Dawn – party leader Michaloliakos included – are in pretrial custody.

In June 2012 parliamentary elections, GD elected 18 deputies. 3 of them resigned from the party and distanced themselves however they did not escape charges.

Ι am afraid there is no cure for this country and the people. Greek media report that police arrested a heart surgeon and department chief at one of Athens biggest public hospitals for demanding bribe for a surgery. A famous fakelaki of 500 euro. The patient informed the police and the story ended in the surgeon’s arrest and suspension from duty. He faces felony charges.

“The surgeon was caught in flagranti with the marked banknotes on him, He kept a book with notes of money he had received and distributed [to other doctors] as well.”

In the report of state TV NERIT, a citizen said that “if the doctors receiving good salaries they couldn’t ask for bribes and we wouldn’t give.”

To tell you the truth nobody is surprised. The practice of public hospital doctors to demand from patients black money in an envelope -therefore the name ‘fakelaki’, i.e. little envelope – is as old as the public hospitals and the public services.

Four years of economic crisis, over-taxation and reforms in Greek hospitals have changed nothing. At least. they changed nothing in the deep-rooted mentality of bribe and corruption among the public servants.

The good news is that the tariffs for fakelaki were decreased due to the crisis – but that could be just a rumor….

A 59-year-old heart surgeon and department chief at one of Athens’s biggest public hospitals, Evangelismos, has been arrested after demanding that a patient pay him 1,500 euros for surgery that had been deemed life-saving, police reported on Thursday.

According to the unnamed male patient who filed the complaint, he had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack and was told he needed immediate surgery.

The surgeon, who headed the department where the patient was being treated, demanded 1,500 euros for the surgery to go ahead, according to the report. When the patient appeared reluctant to pay up, the surgeon allegedly threatened to have him discharged without performing the procedure.

After some negotiation, the doctor agreed to an upfront payment of 500 euros in order to schedule the surgery at once. A relative of the patient delivered the money in marked notes after the police became involved. (ekathimerini)

The investigation also found that the same doctor had demanded money from another patient in May.

Like this:

Main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA leads with 21.5% and is followed by Samaras’ Nea Dimocratia with 19.8%. Third party remains extreme-right Golden Dawn with 8.5% although most of its MPs are in custody.

The public opinion survey was conducted by MRB among 2,000 respondents and during 25. June – 4. July 2014.

SYRIZA 21.5%

ND 19.8%

Golden Dawn 8.5%

To Potami 6.5%

ELIA 6.3% (PASOK)

KKE 5.1%

Independent Greeks 3.8%

Democratic Left 1.3%

Other party 7.1%

Undecided 19.9%

It is interesting that coalition government party PASOK does not appear under this name in the poll but under ELIA the name it used during the EU elections of May.

Another interesting finding is that Alexis Tsipras gains % in the question “Who do you consider as the most appropriate Prime Minister for the country:

Unemployment in Greece remain high with 27.3% in April 2014. according to latest press release of Greek Statistics Authority (ELSTAT). To tell you the truth I am totally confused about this data. First of all I remember, the ELSTAT unemployment rate was 26.8% in March 2014 but in this latest review it is given as 27.3%. Unfortunately as my website is currently down, but I double checked the data and titles googling “keeptalkinggreece unemployment.”

Furthermost I just saw on state NERIT broadcast, the unemployment rates of May 2014. “Unemployment remained the same in May with 27.3% – April also 27.3%”. Whereby ELSTAT has not published the May rates yet!

OK, OK. I should not rely on Greek Statistics. OK. I just post it for the record…. lol

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Former junior partner of Samaras’ coalition government Democratic Left (DIMAR) is falling apart. An MP resigned Thursday morning, short time later the part board expelled prominent MP Dimitris Psarianos. when he refused to support DIMAR for a referendum for the sale of so-called “Little DEH”, that is the privatization of 30% of Greek Public Power Company. An hour later another prominent member of DIMAR central committee had submitted his resignation. The number of seats DIMAR hold now in the Parliament is down to 11.

Democratic Left suffered a major blow at the European Parliament elections and managed to gain just 1.23%.

The party that served as junior coalition government partner 2012-2013. The party managed to survive the closure of state broadcaster ERT but the rather confused policies of party chairman Fotis Koyvelis have left many party members in anger and criticis from the inner of the party blame Kouvelis for not clear policies.

After the EU elections Kouvelis had submitted his resignation from the party chairmanship but the board of central committee turned the resignation down.

Why do we care about Democratic Left? Because its falling apart would increase parties of the left and center-left like PASOK/ELIA, SYRIZa and To Potami.

Minor incidents between school students and riot police occurred on Friday in downtown Athens during a protest march to commemorate the killing of teenager boy Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a policeman in 2008.

fired tear gas via @dromografos

Outside the Athens university, when the protest started, students hurled stones and oranges against riot police squads, while the latter fired tear gas.

A little earlier at nearby Korai Square, a group of 30 protesters wearing hoods attacked with fists and kicks a small group of traffic policemen. One policeman suffer minor injuries in the face.

nonchalant pict by @dromografos

An unknown number of detentions have taken place.

Banner: “We live for today, we struggle for tomorrow”

In Aegaleo suburb of Piraeus, a group hurled molotov cocktails against the local police station.

Another protest is to be launched at 6 p.m. on Friday with a march to Greek Parliament at Syntagma Square. Metro stations <Syntagma>, <Panepistimio> and <Evaggelismos> are closed to passengers as of 10 a.m. by police order.

The winter and the harsh austerity measures claimed three more victims in Greece of loan agreements and heating prices the majority cannot afford. A 85-year-old woman was burned to death when a fire broke out in the 25-sqm shanty home she was living in Aspropyrgos. Media report that most probably a spark from a make-shift fire-place set her mattress on fire. she was found burned on her bed. The woman was living on a small pension of 300 euro.

In another incident in Piraeus, the owner of a hotel was burned to death. He was found in a small studio built on the roof of the hotel. The mans was probably used the studio as his home. the fire broke out while the man was sleeping, he died upon his transfer to the hospital.

In Toumpa suburb of Thessaloniki, a woman, 50, was lucky to be absent when a fire broke in the apartment she was living. The fire most probably broke out from a lit candle, as she was living without electricity and on meals from charity soup kitchen.

If we, Greeks, won’t die because of the shortages in health care, the lack of insurance and the high cost of self-participation, we will most probably burned alive or get poisoned from our make-shift stoves and the candles we light to brighten up our nights without electricity.

Falling asleep in front of the fire-place, hulled with several blankets in a icy-cold home, dazed by the lethal fumes of carbon monoxide...

Scared by the many fire incidents since the beginning of the winter 2013, the government plans to stop power cuts to vulnerable groups of the society due to outstanding bills. And here I say, this is not the solution. Then the debts will keep dragging the people to bills they will never be able to pay back.

ΤΗΕ solution is to decrease the prices in electricity with the many extra fees that make power unaffordable, to lower taxes in heating oil, to equal prices of natural gas to those as in the rest in Europe.

PS So happy to be able to inhale again the smog coming from the fire places

Οne of the most emblematic political figures of our modern world passed away at the age of 95. Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, the international icon of the struggle against racial oppression, the statesman who spent 27 years in prison…

Millions of words can be written about his life and his work. The Wall Street Journal summarized them in a video of seven minutes.

The Eiffel Tower has been lit up in the colors of the South African flag to grieve over Nelson Mandela’s death.

Like this:

Police ordered the closure of three metro stations as early as 10 o’clock Friday morning due to demonstrations that will take place in order to commemorate the killing of teenager boy Alexanros Grigoropoulos by a policeman in 2008.

Metro stations <Syntagma>, <Panepistimio> and <Evaggelismos> are closed to passengers as of 10 pm and will open again most probably late at night.

School students will launch a protest at 11 am outside the Athens University in Panepistimiou Avenue. Another demonstration with march to the Greek Parliament will be launched at 6 p.m. at the same starting point.

Greek media report of the high possibility that more metro stations will be closed in the afternoon.

When metro stations are closed, wagons just pass through but passengers are not allowed to get off or in.